{"id":"db04d86f-12aa-44cc-afd3-f6ee5defdb38","slug":"jacob-robinson","name":"Jacob Robinson","bioBrief":"Co-founder and CEO of [Motif Neurotech](/companies/motif-neurotech), a Houston-based therapeutic brain-computer-interface company developing an implantable BCI for treatment-resistant depression. A Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Bioengineering at Rice University, Robinson earned his PhD in Applied Physics from Cornell and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard. He led a Rice research group for 12 years, publishing 60+ peer-reviewed articles in Nature, Science, and Nature Biomedical Engineering and securing over $40M in federal funding. His honors include the DARPA Young Faculty Award, the Materials Today Rising Star Award, and the Charles Duncan Award. Motif received FDA approval to begin its first clinical trial in 2026.","priorExits":null,"nationality":"American","verificationPosture":"verified","aliases":[],"sources":[{"url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260427361988/en/Motif-Neurotech-Receives-FDA-Approval-to-Begin-First-Clinical-Trial-of-its-Therapeutic-BCI-for-Treatment-Resistant-Depression","title":"Motif Neurotech Receives FDA Approval to Begin First Clinical Trial","sourceName":"Business Wire"},{"url":"https://motifneuro.tech/company","label":"Motif Neurotech company page","title":"Our Company - Motif Neurotech"},{"url":"https://www.robinsonlab.com/jacob-t-robinson","label":"Robinson Lab at Rice - profile","title":"Jacob T. Robinson | Contact"}],"reviewStatus":"reviewed","createdAt":"2026-08-08T22:38:45.240Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-09T19:26:25.929Z","educations":[],"companyRoles":[{"id":"7952f53d-c02a-476a-9a47-181a80565984","personId":"db04d86f-12aa-44cc-afd3-f6ee5defdb38","companyId":"0cd83b28-d0e9-4f17-be61-c9d20d2b618f","role":"ceo","roleTitle":"CEO & Co-founder","startDate":null,"endDate":null,"currentRole":true,"roleBasis":"verified_secondary","displayOrder":null,"createdAt":"2026-08-08T22:38:46.026Z","company":{"slug":"motif-neurotech","name":"Motif Neurotech"}}],"boardRoles":[],"investorRoles":[],"foundings":[{"id":"4bc3e878-e680-4e35-9574-b7d56bbf493e","personId":"db04d86f-12aa-44cc-afd3-f6ee5defdb38","companyId":"0cd83b28-d0e9-4f17-be61-c9d20d2b618f","foundingDate":"2023-01-01T00:00:00.000Z","cofounderStatus":"cofounder","stillAtCompany":true,"createdAt":"2026-08-09T19:26:27.140Z","company":{"slug":"motif-neurotech","name":"Motif Neurotech"}}]}